Charity compilation: Justice for the Jena 6

Before I resume full-album and 12″ posting, let me draw your attention to something more important:

You may have heard of or seen the words “Jena 6” and not known what it’s all about. Well, at least that was the case for me unil just before.

Last December, six black students at Jena High School (Louisiana) were arrested after a school fight in which a white student was beaten and suffered a concussion and multiple bruises. The six black students were charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy. The beating followed a series of racially-charged incidents in the town. They face up to 100 years in prison without parole.

Meanwhile, only one of the six students has actually been sentenced, and the outrageous thing is that they treated him like an adult, even though he was 16 at the time. Obviously, the sentence is much harder for an adult. Luckily, those convictions were withdrawn and he will again get a trial as the juvenile he is. Let’s hope the same and more can be achieved for the other five. But that doesn’t happen automatically. You need people who can defend you and fight teeth and claws. And that doesn’t come for free. Needless to say, when you’re in court and you’re looking at some serious jail time, and you happen to be a bit less well-off, your chances of defending your rights are drastically lower than if you can afford to pay for some mean-ass, judge devouring attorney like Robert Shapiro or Johnnie Cochran (remember OJ?).

Anyway, to make sure these kids can at least get a fair trial for a dubious accusation, Tampa Bay artists have compiled this album packed with hip-hop and spoken word pieces. And all the money they make off this compilation goes to the kids, to help pay for legal fees.